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Impact of MSP-prepared Mathematics Specialists on Middle School Instruction and Student Success

Abstract

In this session we will summarize the results of two projects funded by National Science Foundation grants to train and study Mathematics Specialists in Virginia's elementary schools and then outline the plan for our current MSP Institute project. The results of our earlier projects are the foundation upon which our current MSP Institute project was based. We will explain what we have learned about the role of Mathematics Specialists in elementary schools and their impact on student achievement in mathematics. We will describe the quantitative and qualitative methods that will be used to study the impact of middle school mathematics specialists on teacher knowledge and beliefs as well as student achievement.